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House Morbidia
House Morbidia, also known as the Pact of Morbidia, was a house of Imperial Knights of the Questor Mechanicus in service to the Mechanicum of old that was of ancient provenance and founded at the very beginning of the Age of Strife on holy Mars itself. House Morbidia started its existence as one of the very first Knight Houses in service of the Omnissiah's priesthood and was one of the early rivals of the legendary Knights of Taranis and House Zavora. Yet where these Houses were to rise high in the esteem of the Martian priesthood, House Morbidia would fall in disgrace; sparking an internecine war that would see it defeated and shackled to the will of the Fabricator-General. As an independent Imperial Knight House, House Morbidia ceased to exist. In its place, as punishment for its crime, the "Pact of Morbidia" was initiated. The House would serve as a penal detachment forced to act as the Fabricator-General's personal enforcers for centuries before turning to the service of the Warmaster Horus and his Traitor Legions during the Horus Heresy. Whether the Pact of Morbidia survived the galactic civil war is unknown. House History House Morbidia originated on Mars, in the distant past when Humanity entered the Age of Strife. In its early years it established itself as one of the early rivals of such famed Knight Houses as House Zavora or even the Knights of Taranis in power and the favour of the Omnissiah's priesthood. At first the House seems to have prospered, growing strong, as did its rivals. However, some time during these dark centuries, House Morbidia erred and committed crimes the truth of which have long been suppressed within the vast and ancient datacores of Mars. The ruling Fabricator-General condemned their actions and pronounced them Excommunicate Traitoris. Thus began a series of bloody and bitter battles which would eventually bring the defiant scions of the House Morbidia to their knees in surrender, their power broken and their House in ruins. As the price for their survival, the House was forced to accede to the crippling demands of servitude imposed by its new overlords, not least of all total submission to the office of the Fabricator-General "...until such times as the stars themselves burned cold...". Since then, what remained of House Morbidia has formed a cadre of what could be described as slave-warriors, its scions condemned to live and die at the will of the Fabricator-General of Mars for the dim and forgotten sins of their forebears many generations before. Effectively, as an Imperial Knight House, House Morbidia ceased to exist, but being bound to the Fabricator-General it was nevertheless equipped with Knight armours of the highest standard, having found a new purpose in the service of their master: the punishment of those who would stray too far from the doctrines of Mars. On these occasions, the "Pact of Morbidia" fought alongside the dreaded Legio Mortis, but was never permitted to become powerful again. On rare occasions, the ranks of the Pact were swelled by individual scions of other oath-bound Knight Houses condemned by the Consistorial Courts of Mars to serve as part of the Pact for infractions of dogma and tech-heresy. However these sentences were seldom as severe as the one pronounced in eons past on House Morbidia, most Knights being sentenced to serve until their death or for a certain amount of years. As the Horus Heresy dawned and the ominous Fabricator-General of Mars, Kelbor-Hal, sided with the Traitors, so too did the Pact of Morbidia. The Legio Mortis offered House Morbidia their freedom if they would swear an oath to Horus. Embittered by their centuries of enslavement, the Knight House was swift to accept. Most of its number was scattered amongst the Traitors' Expeditionary Fleets across the galaxy, assigned to Legio Mortis and Legio Magna detachments or dispatched to reinforce independent Dark Mechanicum battlegroups such as the Taghmata Satarael. Notable Campaigns * Battle of Beta-Garmon, "The Titandeath" (006-013.M31) - House Morbidia took part in the long and savage Beta-Garmon campaign, which included hundreds of war zones across dozens of worlds. During this conflict, House Morbidia provided Knight support to the Legio Mortis. Even before the greater armies of the Warmaster Horus reached the star cluster, the battle lines had long since been drawn, and fighting had been going on for many Terran years. It was a cauldron of battle that would consume millions of lives before its end and see the demise of entire Titan Legions, earning this campaign the dire moniker of the "Titandeath." The Beta-Garmon Cluster, also known as the gateway to the throneworld of Terra, was the last hurdle that the Warmaster Horus' forces had to overcome before they reached the Imperium's capital world. Heavily fortified by the Loyalists, Beta-Garmon would become one of the greatest and bloodiest battles of the Horus Heresy, as well as one of the longest-lasting. Notable Knights None listed in current Imperial records. Notable Personnel None listed in current Imperial records. House Appearance House Colours The colours of House Morbidia are red and gold. House Arms The arms of House Morbidia are not listed in current Imperial records. Sources *''Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath'' (Specialty Game), pg. 95 *''The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest'' (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 99 *''White Dwarf'' 30 (February 2019), "Vassal Knight Houses," pg. 130 es:Casa Morbidia Category:M Category:Adeptus Mechanicus Category:Chaos Category:Chaos Knights Category:Dark Mechanicus Category:Chaos Walkers Category:Imperium Category:Knight Houses Category:Imperial Knights